London's St Paul's Cathedral and the city authorities suspended legal action Tuesday against anti-capitalist protesters camped outside the historic landmark. The management of St Paul's said it had unanimously agreed to suspend its current legal action against the demonstrators who have turned the churchyard into a sprawling campsite and triggered turmoil in the cathedral hierarchy.
The head of St. Paul's quit on Monday after facing criticism for attempts to move on the protesters, who are inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement in the United States. "The resignation of the dean, the Right Reverend Graeme Knowles, has given the opportunity to reassess the situation," the cathedral said in a statement.
It said its decision would "demonstrate that St Paul's intends to engage directly and constructively with the protesters... without the threat of forcible eviction hanging over both the camp and the church." The Occupy London Stock Exchange (OLSX) group pitched up in the churchyard two weeks ago. Around 200 multi-coloured tents are spread out by the entrance and the north side of Christopher Wren's masterpiece.
The City of London Corporation local authority was expected to hand a letter to the protesters on Tuesday asking them to remove their tents. However, Stuart Fraser, the corporation's policy chairman, said it decided to press "pause" on its legal action after St. Paul's changed its stance on the matter. "We've pressed the 'pause' button overnight on legal action affecting the highways - in order to support the cathedral as an important national institution and give time for reflection," Fraser said in a statement.
"We're hoping to use a pause - probably of days not weeks - to work out a measured solution," he added. The dispute over the protesters has plunged the Anglican church into crisis as it wrings its hands over how to handle the demonstrators while maintaining its principles.
Knowles became the third churchman to quit over the issue in the space of a week, saying his position had become "untenable". Rowan Williams, the leader of the world's Anglicans, expressed support for the protesters' moral agenda, but warned that they would not be taken seriously unless they formulated some credible alternatives.